“One-Pot” Two-Step Synthesis of Aryl Sulfur Compounds by Photoinduced Reactions of Thiourea Anion with Aryl Halides

Riboflavin and Eosin Y Supported on Chromatographic Silica Gel as Heterogeneous Photocatalysts

The application of photocatalysis for organic synthesis, both in the laboratory and on an industrial scale, will depend on the achieving of good yields and the ease with which it can be applied. Selective irradiation of the photocatalyst with LED light has made it possible to activate the reactions easily, without the need for UV or heat filters. However, a common problem is the need to separate the photocatalyst from the reaction products through extraction and chromatography isolation processes. These procedures make it difficult to recover and reuse the catalyst, which is not compatible with scale-up applications. Photocatalysts attached to heterogeneous supports resulted in an alternative, which facilitates their removal and reuse. In this study, we use chromatographic silica gel as a low-cost heterogeneous support to bind photosensitizers such as Riboflavin or Eosin Y. The modified silica gel was analyzed by FTIR-ATR and diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and optical microscopy. These hybrid materials have a suitable size for easy separation by decantation and were found to be photoactive against two photooxidation reactions. These easy-to-handle materials open the door to effective applications for photoinduced organic synthesis methods at medium to large scale.

Homocouplings of Sodium Arenesulfinates: Selective Access to Symmetric Diaryl Sulfides and Diaryl Disulfides

Symmetrical diaryl sulfides and diaryl disulfides have been efficiently and selectively constructed via the homocoupling of sodium arenesulfinates. The selectivity of products relied on the different reaction systems: symmetrical diaryl sulfides were predominately obtained under the Pd(OAc)2 catalysis, whereas symmetrical diaryl sulfides were exclusively yielded in the presence of the reductive Fe/HCl system.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel L-Homoserine Lactone Analogs as Quorum Sensing Inhibitors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

In this study, we synthesized four series of novel L-homoserine lactone analogs and evaluated their in vitro quorum sensing (QS) inhibitory activity against two biomonitor strains, Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Studies of the structure-activity relationships of the set of L-homoserine lactone analogs indicated that phenylurea-containing N-dithiocarbamated homoserine lactones are more potent than (Z)-4-bromo-5-(bromomethylene)-2(5H)-furanone (C30), a positive control for biofilm formation. In particular, compared with C30, QS inhibitor 11f significantly reduced the production of virulence factors (pyocyanin, elastase and rhamnolipid), swarming motility, the formation of biofilm and the mRNA level of QS-related genes regulated by the QS system of PAO1. These results reveal 11f as a potential lead compound for developing novel antibacterial quorum sensing inhibitors.

Synthesis and nano-Pd catalyzed chemoselective oxidation of symmetrical and unsymmetrical sulfides

A highly chemoselective, efficient and nano-Pd catalyzed protocol for the rapid construction of sulfoxides and sulfones via the oxidation of symmetrical and unsymmetrical sulfides using H2O2 as an oxidant has been developed, respectively. The ready availability of starting materials, easy recovery and reutilization of the catalyst, wide substrate scope, and high yields make this protocol an attractive alternative. The process also involves the metal-free and microwave-promoted synthesis of symmetrical diarylsulfides, and FeCl3-mediated preparation of symmetrical diaryldisulfides through the reaction of arenediazonium tetrafluoroborates with Na2S·9H2O as a sulfur source. In addition, unsymmetrical sulfides were generated via the K2CO3-mediated reaction of arenediazonium tetrafluoroborates with symmetrical disulfides.

Cesium carbonate-promoted synthesis of aryl methyl sulfides using S-methylisothiourea sulfate under transition-metal-free conditions

In the presence of cesium carbonate, an efficient synthesis of aryl methyl sulfides by the reactions of aryl halides with commercially available S-methylisothiourea sulfate is developed. This odourless and highly crystalline solid can be used as the substitute for malodorous methanethiol. The gram-scale reaction also proceeds smoothly without the use of column chromatography separation. Similarly, 2-(dimethylamino)ethylthio and cyclopropylmethylthio groups can be easily introduced into the aromatic rings from the corresponding S-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]isothiourea dihydrochloride and S-cyclopropylmethylisothiourea hydrobromide. The possible reaction mechanism is proposed. It is believed that this route to aryl alkyl sulfides is well competitive with currently known methods due to its wide substrate scope, excellent yields, easy operation and transition-metal-free conditions.

Preparation and biological properties of 2-thio-containing pyrimidines and their condensed analogs

The known methods for synthesis of thioxopyrimidines and their condensed analogs with exocyclic sulfur atom are summarized and discussed. The most popular approaches are based on [3+3], [4+2], [5+1] cyclization processes or domino reactions. The literature data analysis shows that the title compounds possess diverse biological activities, such as antioxidant, radioprotective, analgesic, antiinflammatory, antihypertensive, anxiolytic, anamnestic, anticonvulsant, antimicrobial, fungicidal, herbicidal, antiviral, and anticancer.

Efficient Cu-catalyzed base-free C-S coupling under conventional and microwave heating. A simple access to S-heterocycles and sulfides

S-aryl thioacetates can be prepared by reaction of inexpensive potassium thioacetate with both electron-rich and electron-poor aryl iodides under a base-free copper/ligand catalytic system. CuI as copper source affords S-aryl thioacetates in good to excellent yields, by using 1,10-phenanthroline as a ligand in toluene at 100 °C after 24 h. Under microwave irradiation the time was drastically reduced to 2 h. Both procedures are simple and involve a low-cost catalytic system. This methodology was also applied to the “one-pot” synthesis of target heterocycles, such as 3H-benzo[c][1,2]dithiol-3-one and 2-methylbenzothiazole, alkyl aryl sulfides, diaryl disulfides and asymmetric diaryl sulfides in good yields.

CuI-Catalyzed: One-Pot Synthesis of Diaryl Disulfides from Aryl Halides and Carbon Disulfide

A new application of carbon disulfide in the presence of KF/Al2O3is reported for the synthesis of organic symmetrical diaryl disulfides. These products were synthesized by one-pot reaction of aryl halides with thein situgenerated trithiocarbonate ion in the presence of copper under air atmosphere.

Preparation of SRN1-Type Coupling Adducts from Aliphatic gem-Dinitro Compounds in Ionic Liquids

S_RN1-type coupling adducts are readily prepared by the reaction between α-sulfonylesters or α-cyanosulfones and gem-dinitro compounds in ionic liquids. The reactions progress smoothly and recovered ionic liquids can be used for several iterations, as long as they are washed with water to remove alkali metallic salts. The reaction rate is slower than the corresponding S_RN1 reaction in DMSO, but no acceleration on irradiation or no inhibition in the presence of m-DNB are observed.

Competitive reaction pathways for o-anilide aryl radicals: 1,5- or 1,6-hydrogen transfer versus nucleophilic coupling reactions. A novel rearrangement to afford an amidyl radical

The photoinduced reactions of o-iodoanilides (o-IC6H4N(Me)COR, 4a-d) with sulfur nucleophiles such as thiourea anion (1, -SCNH(NH2)), thioacetate anion (2, MeCOS-), and sulfide anion (3, S(2-)) follow different reaction channels, giving the sulfides by a radical nucleophilic substitution or the dehalogenated products by hydrogen atom transfer pathways. After an initial photoinduced electron transfer (PET) from 1 to iodide 4, the o-amide aryl radicals 12 are generated. These aryl radicals 12 afford alternative reaction pathways depending on the structure of the alpha-carbonyl moiety: (a) 12b (R = Me) adds to 1 to render the methylthio-substituted compounds by quenching the thiolate anion intermediate with MeI after irradiation; (b) 12c (R = -CH2Ph) follows a 1,5-hydrogen transfer to give a stabilized alpha-carbonyl radical (17); and (c) 12d (R = t-Bu) affords 1,6-hydrogen transfer, followed by a 1,4-aryl migration to render an amidyl radical (20), which is reduced to the N-benzyl-N,2-dimethylpropanamide (10). Together with this last rearranged product, the ipso substitution derivative was also observed. Similar results were obtained in the PET reactions of 4d (R = t-Bu) with anions 2 and 3 under entrainment conditions with the enolate anion from cyclohexenone (5) or the tert-butoxide anion (6). From this novel rearrangement, and only under reductive conditions by PET reaction with anion 5, iodide 4d (R = t-Bu) affords quantitatively the propanamide 10. The energetic of the intramolecular rearrangements followed by radicals 12b-d were rationalized by B3LYP/6-31+G* calculations.

Nature of the Chain Propagation in the Photostimulated Reaction of 1-Bromonaphthalene with Sulfur-Centered Nucleophiles

The reactivity of -SC(NH)NH2 (1), MeCOS- (2), and PhCOS- (3) toward 1-naphthyl radicals was studied in DMSO. The photostimulated reaction of anions 1, 2, and 3 with 1-bromonaphthalene (4) after quenching with MeI renders 1-(methylthio)naphthalene (6) as a main product together with bis(1-naphthyl) sulfide (7) and naphthalene (5). The thioacetate ion (2) and thiobenzoate ion (3) were unreactive toward 4 as electron-donor under photostimulation; however, in the presence of potassium tert-butoxide anion (entrainment conditions), they gave the mentioned products 5, 6, and 7, after the addition of MeI. Quenching of the triplet state of 4 was assigned as the photoinduced initiation step, with a rate constant value of (4.6+/-0.5)x10(8) M-1 s-1 for tert-butoxide anion and a rough estimated value of (8+/-7)x10(7) M-1 s-1 for anion 1. By using hydrogen abstraction from DMSO as the competitive reaction, the absolute rate constants for the addition of anions 1, 2, and 3 to 1-naphthyl radicals have been determined to be 1.0x10(9), 1.2x10(9), and 3.5x10(9) M-1 s-1, respectively. This reactivity order is in agreement with the stability of the resulting radical anions (ArNu)*- (10-12)*-. The inhibition experiments of the photoinduced substitution reaction in the presence of radical scavengers and the global quantum yield higher than the unity are evidence of a radical chain mechanism for these substitution reactions by anions 1 and 2. Anion 3 adds to the 1-naphthyl radical, but is neither able to initiate nor to keep the propagation cycle. Evaluation of the electron-transfer driving forces for the reaction between (ArNu)*- and 4 together with the absence of a chain reaction for the anion 3 indicate that the propagation in the proposed mechanism is given by an acid-base reaction between the radical .C(O)Me or .C(NH)NH2 (13) and a base.